Perspectives & Rest

I just finished my first ever self-inflicted twenty-four hour fast. I am not counting the times I didn't eat for a few days because I had my wisdom teeth out. But man, I did look good when I recovered.

Why would I want to fast? The Diabetes Code recommends fasting as a way to lower blood sugar, and I am trying to drop my blood sugar to something lower than "pre-diabetic." I have a second A1C blood test at the end of the summer. I am an overachiever and good student. I want to crush any test I take, even if it is a blood test.

That, and my grandfather died from kidney failure, which was a complication due to his Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is my genetic-history cross to bear. Some families get cancer. My family gets diabetes. I saw him frequently in the last ten years of his life, and I saw first hand how rough it was. I saw his hands look like swollen sausages, then shrink after he had dialysis. Type 2 

Ten years ago, I read Starving Your Way to Vigor: The Benefits of an Empty Stomach by Steve Hendricks in Harper's. Hendricks was researching the history of fasting, and decided it give it a try. For seventeen days. He lost thirty pounds and didn't gain them back. He discusses the potential healing power of fasting: "Was fasting perhaps a healing mechanism, like sleep?" Since I read the article a decade ago, I have been curious about fasting, but not curious enough to stop eating. Theoretically, fasting sounds interesting, but a day without food? Maybe I try it next week...

Now that I am pre-diabetic, my diet and exercise program isn't about my vanity--it is about my health and my longevity. My diet is very likely tied to my lifespan, and more importantly, my quality of life as I age. 

My new friend T sent me a video from Dr. Berg on fasting. When that video popped up, a second video about fasting from Sahdguru popped up. (My friend Anderson had told me about Sahdguru ages ago.) I watched them both, figuring I could benefit from the two perspectives: West and East.

Dr. Berg is a midwesterner from Iowa. His video is loaded with facts and science and data and details of all of the wonderful things fasting does to your body. Do I want all of those things? Sure.

Sahdguru is from southern India and takes a different perspective: when you eat continuously, your digestive system works continuously. Why not fast for a bit and give it a rest?

Which video did I find more persuasive? I can't say. Dr. Berg's data is compelling, but not inspiring. Sahdguru was inspiring, but not as compelling. Dr Berg's argument appealed to my brain. Sahdguru's argument appealed to my soul.

The two videos together were the right combination for me. I needed both my brain and my soul engaged in this exercise. I had both a reason and a why to fast. Dr Berg got me started and Sahdguru kept me going. I knew there were tons of health benefits to fasting, but when I wanted to a snack at 2 in the afternoon, I didn't think about my mitochondria. I thought, I need to give my digestive system some rest.